April Vehicle Sales Hot & Cold Showers For India’s Automotive Industry

The bad days of India’s automobile industry seem far from being over as data sourced from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has pointed out that two-wheeler sales in April 2022 were not even up to the mark with the number of two-wheelers that were sold in April 2012. 

The good news, however, is the fact that in comparison to 995,115 two-wheelers sold in April 2021, a total of 1,148,696 two-wheelers were sold in April 2022. This represents an increase of over 15% year-on-year (YoY).

Overall, a total of 1,270,604 vehicles were sold in India in April 2021. These figures, in April 2022, stood at 1,421,241, representing an increase of 11.85%.

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM, said, “Sales of Passenger Vehicles are still below the April 2017 figures, while two-wheelers are even below the April 2012 figures. Three-wheelers are yet to reach normal levels, as sales are still less than 50% of April 2016 figures. Manufacturers are working hard to manage the supplier ecosystem with agility and flexibility as supply side challenges continue for the industry. Further, manufacturers are also monitoring the likely impact on demand, due to the recent hike in repo-rates, as it would increase the lending rates to the customers.”

Both scooters and motorcycles categories recorded a jump in domestic sales in the country. Compared to 301,279 scooters sold in India in April 2021, 374,556 scooters were sold in April 2022, representing a 24.3% YoY growth. Motorcycles, similarly, posted a 10.1% increase in sales. A total of 667,859 motorcycles were sold in April 2021, whereas 735,360 of these were sold in April 2022.

The two-wheelers sector was not able to grow on the exports front. As against 431,311 units exported in April 2021, only 405,439 units were shipped in April 2022. This represents a decline of 6%.

Mixed Days For PVs  

India’s passenger vehicle market seems to be dancing between the hot and cold showers as the sector’s domestic sales decline YoY, but export figures showed growth. Utility Vehicle OEMs and brands will be happy to record that the number of these vehicles increased from 108,871 units in April 2021 to 127,213 units in April 2022, growing by 17% YoY.

Overall, 251,581 PVs were sold in April 2022. This number is 3.8% less than 261,633 units of PVs that were sold in April 2021. The passenger vehicle industry saw healthy growth in terms of exports as well. The country’s OEMs had exported 42,017 PVs in April 2021, while they shipped 46,548 PVs in April 2022. This denotes an 11% YoY increase in the PV export figures.

It is worth mentioning here that the country’s OEMs produced approximately 1,600 more PVs in April 2022 than in April 2021. A total of 307,506 PVs were manufactured in 2022 against 305,952 units in April 2021.

Good Days For Three-wheeler Industry

Three-wheelers, considered the titans of last-mile connectivity and cargo services in India, had a good April 2022. This vertical of India’s automobile industry witnessed sales of 20,938 three-wheelers during the month under review. These numbers, in April 2021, were down to 13,856 units. This represents a 51.1% YoY growth, with passenger and goods carrier three-wheeler segments registering a healthy increase in numbers.

As against 9,279 passenger carrier three-wheelers sold in April 2021, a total of 13,337 of these were sold in April 2022. Similarly, against 4,577 goods carrier three-wheelers sold in April 2021, a total of 7,601 were sold in April 2022. The OEMs had exported 46,437 three-wheelers in April 2021. against 35,780 shipped in April this year, marking a 23% decline YoY.